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Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton announced Monday that they are expecting their first child. St. Jame's Palace confirmed the pregnancy and that the Duchess is currently in the hospital for a severe form of morning sickness, according to an article by the Associated Press, published by the Star Tribune.

The morning sickness condition, formally known as hyperemesis gravidarum, typically doesn't endanger the mother, but can be pretty miserable, says Kecia Gaither, director of maternal fetal medicine at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. In the article by USA Today George Macones, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Washington University in St. Louis and a spokesman for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology explained that "less than 1% of all pregnant women are hospitalized for vomiting."

However, if the sickness persists for more than 24 hours, women should call their doctors. Due to the frequent nausea, expecting mothers can become easily dehydrated from this condition. While in the hospital, doctors are able to administer intravenous fluids to the expecting mothers, "as well as anti-nausea medications, such as vitamin B6, a drug called Zofran or others," Macones says. The condition is thought to affect one in every 200 mothers, according to the Star Tribune.

The child will be the first for the royal couple and is considered the most widely anticipated pregnancy since Princess Diana's 1981 pregnancy. Though the palace would not reveal exactly how far along the Duchess is, they did confirm that she has not yet reached the 12-week mark, according to the Star Tribune.

The Duchess will be treated and have plenty of rest to overcome the condition. It should not affect the health of her expected child. "The best advice for anyone suffering from (severe morning sickness) is to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluid," Dr. Daghni Rajasingam, a spokeswoman for Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said in a statement. "The condition usually subsides by week 12 of the pregnancy and with early diagnosis and treatment, there is no reason why we shouldn't expect a healthy pregnancy."

The News of the World hacking scandal continues to affect victims of tragedies around the world. Privacy and communication were now hand in hand as News of the World reporters hacked into voicemails to uncover fresh news. One victim in particular was a 13-year-old schoolgirl named Milly Dowler, who was murdered on her way home from school. According to an article by CNN, her parents were devastated with the scandal affecting their own tragedy.

Going back as far as 2005, News of the World reporters hacked in voicemails of important people in the public eye. Their invasion of privacy and ability to turn private information into public stories was a tragedy that still affects the victims now.

The Guardian had reported in July of 2002 that News of the World had also hacked into the 13-year-old Dowler's phone and deleted voicemails in order to free up space for more voicemails. News of the World boss, Rupert Murdoch immediately closed the 168-year-old tabloid down and attempted to apologize by paying the Dowler family $4 million.

The deletion of these voicemails caused heartbreak to Dowler's family who called Milly's phone in search for her and heard her voice."I rang her phone," recalled Sally Dowler. "It clicked through on to her voicemail, so I heard her voice and it was just like, 'she's picked up her voicemail, she's alive.'"

However, after Dowler's body was found six months later, it was revealed that there was no real evidence that News of the World hacked into Dowler's phone and it remains unknown if they truly did or not.

The hacking scandal officially begun in November 2005 when News of the World reporters had hacked into a voicemail and then published a story about Prince Henry's knee injury. From then on, News of the World's officials went through a whirlwind of destroyed reputations and lawsuits. The most recent case occurred on August 24 in which the Washington Post explains, "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announce[d] preliminary FBI investigation of possible phone hacking targeting 9/11 victims and their families."

After a woman was denied an abortion that could have saved her life, the Irish abortion law is being questioned, according to articles by CNN and Washington Post.

Savita Halappanavar, 31, went to Galway University Hospital on Oct. 21 complaining about intense back pain. According to CNN, the doctors found that she was having a miscarriage but denied an abortion, stating, "Sorry, can't help you. It's a Catholic country. Can't help you. It's a Catholic team." Later, the fetal heartbeat faded and Halappanavar died of blood poisoning.

According to Irish Times reporter Kitty Holland, "Doctors at Galway University Hospital said that as long as the fetal heartbeat could be felt, the law prevented them from ending the pregnancy." This law and its direct infliction on Halappanavar's life has caused controversy around the world. In London, an abortion rights demonstration took place in front of the Irish Embassy Wednesday evening, while pro-choice supporters in the United States are outraged.

This isn't the first time Ireland has ran into a controversy such as this one. According to the Washington Post, a similar incident occurred in 1992 when "a 14-year-old girl, raped and made pregnant by a neighbor, was at first forbidden to travel to England for a legal abortion, the Supreme Court ruled the procedure should be legalized when continuing the pregnancy presents a "real and substantial risk" to a mother's life, but not her health."

"The current situation is like a sword of Damocles hanging over us," Dr. Peter Boylan of the Irish Institute of Obstetricians and Gynecologists told the Associated Press on Thursday. "If we do something with a good intention, but it turns out to be illegal, the consequences are extremely serious for medical practitioners."

Investigations are currently being conducted in Ireland for this incident and to avoid future incidents such as this one.

Nigerians held a mock poll during the 2012 presidential election, for which Obama received 219 votes and Romney received 60. According to an article by CNN, none of the Nigerians had a clear reason why they voted for Obama - except his relation to the continent, as the son of a Kenyan dad. In comparison to past Presidents, such as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, president Obama had not established the same kind of relationship with Africa during his first term.

"In 2003, a few months after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Bush signed into law a bill establishing the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in fulfilment of a promise made during his State of the Union Address earlier that year," author Tolu Ogunlesi said. Bush also pledged $15 billion to fight HIV/AIDS and renewed the commitment for another five years in 2008. Before Bush, Bill Clinton also established a relationship with Africa when he created the "African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), a landmark piece of legislation that opened up American markets to African countries," CNN stated.

President Obama, on the other hand, had visited Africa once during his first term, in Ghana in 2009, for a visit that lasted less than 24 hours. Though Africans are unsure why this is, Dr. Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, Director of the Lagos-based Centre for Public Policy Analysis, believed it to be because Obama is in a "conflicted position" -- he is "compelled to exercise caution in his engagement with Africa for fear that such a position will become ammunition in the hands of the lunatic right, Tea Party types and those who insist he is not an American and is really a Muslim," CNN said.

Though Obama has not tried to create a relationship with Africa directly, Africans still support the incumbent for his second term. According to an article by the Huffington Post, the author claims "Africans have generally lost hope in our leaders' ability to solve the persistent problems of hunger, disease, illiteracy and general lack of development, we often look to the United States, as the leader of the free world, to offer a helping hand to challenge our leaders to start working for the prosperity of their people," Themba Mzingwane said. "It is a sad indictment on our leaders that we find ourselves looking for salvation from leaders of distant countries. But there are concrete steps that Obama can take to help the African people."

In order to obtain the trust of Africans seeking change, Mzingwane believes Obama should "work to expand and continuously offer full support to the many human rights advocates in Africa fighting against vicious governments in an attempt to advance many freedoms still being denied to their fellow citizens," "continue President Bush's good work in curbing the HIV/AIDS epidemic," and "do more to empower people on the continent by helping to fund countless effective educational projects that suffer from lacking of funding."

In June, "the White House unveiled a new sub-Saharan Africa strategy built around four "objectives": Democracy, Trade & Investment, Peace & Security, and Development," CNN stated. "But it remains to be seen whether Obama will unveil an Africa project on a scale comparable to AGOA and PEPFAR."

As Hurricane Sandy rips through Northeast America, 67 lives have been claimed in addition to "765,000 in seven states with no electricity," says CNN.

Hurricane Sandy, the superstorm threatening over 50 millions lives is speeding toward New York City Monday. According to CBS News, Sandy is a category 1 hurricane, with maximum winds at 90 mph.

Before the storm's landfall in New York, Sandy's high winds had knocked power out of half a million Americans in several states mid-Monday. Hurricane Sandy has claimed 67 lives already, with 51 of those deaths in Haiti.

In the United States, Hurricane Sandy has caused "schools to shut down, businesses shuttered and mass transit suspended," CNN said. Of all seven states out of electricity, New York and New Jersey have been facing the most outages. In addition to rain, 2 to 3 feet of snow is forecast in parts of West Virginia, according to CBS News.

President Barack Obama made a statement Monday warning Americans on the severity of the storm, "Please listen to what your state and local officials are saying. When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. Don't delay, don't pause, don't question the instructions that are being given, because this is a powerful storm."

Australian zookeeper, Lucy Melo, is in 'stable' condition after being pinned by elephant calf Friday, according to CNN.

The 2-year-old elephant calf named Pathi Harn, thai for 'miracle,' pinned Melo to a post around 11:30 a.m. Friday when Melo was teaching the elephants how to wash, according to Global Post.

After two other zookeepers helped get the elephant off of her, Melo was rushed to Royal North Short Hospital where she had a cardiac arrest for five minutes.

Because it is unclear why Pathi Harn charged Melo, the Taronga Zoo in Sydney has launched an investigation to discover a possible reason. According to Global Post, the elephant calf may have been testing the authority of Melo.

"Our focus continues to be on the wellbeing of the keeper and supporting her fellow keepers," Taronga Zoo director and chief executive Cameron Kerr said.

While Melo, 40, remains in the hospital recovering, Pathi Harn, also known as Mr. Shuffles for his walking style, is back on show for zoo visitors.

A consistent string of bombs and shootings in Baghdad, near a revered Shiite shrine, killed 17 Saturday, according to the Star Tribune.

Within minutes of each other, the bombings, 500 meters from a shrine, intended to intimate Iraq's Shiites, but instead killed 11 and wounded 35.

The bombings also damaged local shops and buildings, which were especially busy today, with the Eid al-Adha holiday coming up in a week.

Ahmed Naseer, an owner of a stationary shop, claimed that when he came out of his store, he saw "burning carts and merchant stalls, and children crying and women screaming out of fear. The whole place was full of panic," Naseer said.

According to WSBTV, gunmen opened fire on a police patrol early Saturday, killing two policemen and wounding another. The policeman shot worked with the State Identity Directorate.

Later, near the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint where they killed three officers.

In eastern Baghdad, gunmen also killed a prison official in a drive-by-shooting.
Saturday marks Iraq's deadliest day since Sept.30, where 26 died from blasts that hit Shiite neighborhoods as well as Iraqi security forces.

9 are dead in Kandahar, Afghanistan after suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up at an intelligence office, according to the Huffington Post.

Included in the 9 killed are four Afghan intelligence officers, a coalition service member and a civilian employee working for the coalition.

Spokesman Qari Yousef claimed in a text message to reporters that the Taliban is to be named responsible for the attack because they were targeting international forces operating in Afghanistan.

Violence has spiked in southern Afghanistan, according to Dawn.com, with a roadside bomb occurring earlier Saturday, as well as a 12-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl who were injured Friday after stepping on a bomb.